@deedeesvintage, Dalston - Travis Hodges, 2011

1 April 2013

This image is from a project exploring social networking. I had been resisting joining Twitter and finally signed up with a promise to make something creative of the experience. I was interested in the way that friendships and networks develop through social media and decided to explore this process by photographing a series of these connections.

Each subject is photographed with reference to their online persona and they then introduce the next, choosing from the people they follow. Images are accompanied by an introduction of 140 characters from the previous sitter, giving clues to their online personality and the sitters’ relationship. The series creates a thread of individuals drawn together and linked by an online network, bringing these invisible connections out of the virtual world.

As this is a personal project I have the freedom to shoot each portrait as I choose, exploring less familiar photographic genres with more creative freedom than many clients allow. As Dee Dee runs a fashion business I wanted the portrait to have the feel of a fashion shoot.

Having visited the location before, I had this pose in mind and worked thorough a few setups to relax my, nervous, subject to the point she felt comfortable sprawled out on damp astroturf. The shot was taken using a Canon 5d2, 24-105mm lens and two Elinchrom flash heads.

The image is currently in the Royal Photographic Society International print exhibition, another image from the series was selected for PortraitSalon 2012.

Travis Hodges graduated from Falmouth University in 2004. His first major project, on teenage exclusion, found recognition from the Observer Hodge award and the Jerwood prize. Moving to London, Travis followed the well worn path of assisting photographers whose work he admired and developing his portfolio before stepping out on his own. When he’s not behind the camera, Travis leads the team that organises the monthly Photo-Forum talks in central London, where working photographers can discuss and debate their images, ideas, and approaches.

EPUK is an email group for professional editorial photographers who want to talk business. We don’t do techie stuff or in-crowd gossip. We don’t talk cameras or computers. What we talk about are the nuts and bolts of being in business - like copyright, licensing, fees and insurance.